Lot 72
GEORGE III CARVED GILTWOOD, GILT, AND EBONISED BENEFACTOR BOARDS FOR THE BRISTOL INFIRMARY
DATED 1762
Auction: Five Centuries Day One | Wed 11th November | Lots 1 to 322
Description
comprising two panels commemorating the founder and benefactor John Elbridge, Esq. and later benefactor Dr. John Bonython, of the Bristol Infirmary; each panel listing in script their various contributions to the founding and subsequent maintenance of the charity, the panels flanked by carved and gilt panels of palms and mounted in a later frame
Dimensions
137cm high, 144cm wide overall
Footnote
The Bristol Infirmary, established in 1735 for the relief of the sick poor, was among the earliest voluntary hospitals founded outside London. Its origins lay in a public subscription organised by a group of prominent Bristol citizens, with the institution opening at Maudlin Lane in December 1737. Among its principal benefactors was John Elbridge, Deputy Controller of His Majesty’s Customs at Bristol, who financed and furnished the original wards and bequeathed £5,000 to the charity upon his death in 1738; and Dr. John Bonython, one of the earliest physicians to be affiliated with the Charity. The Infirmary was sustained by the generosity of local merchants, civic figures and private subscribers, whose contributions enabled its subsequent enlargement and development. Granted the royal title by Queen Victoria in 1850, it became the Bristol Royal Infirmary, enduring testament to the city’s longstanding tradition of philanthropic patronage and charitable provision.